Make entry on your project page of your wiki – after reading Hamlet, what did Shakespeare seem to think was absolute? Do you agree? Why or why not? What topics does he explore as final? Which does he leave as liminal? Scan contents of Middlesex – make predictions.
Absolute - No one ever gets away with murderer- because of guilt: In today's society, I do not agree with this statement. I think Shakespeare was showing that when people commit this crime, guilt will eat away at them and make them go crazy or be very uptight. I think this is true because of the fear of being caught. I think this crime is such a hard one to commit, as shown by Hamlet, that it often leads people to go crazy just from trying to seem innocent. I believe he makes this a final topic because in the end Claudius is killed. Claudius is trying to protect his secret so much that he goes to great extents to try to kill Hamlet. His plans fall through and everything ends up being revealed. Through his own guilt he tries to take ridiculous actions to cover up his crime. In the end, he ends up dying due to his own actions. - Not being loyal will lead to punishment: Shakespeare displays this through many of his characters. He shows that when you are not loyal, there are consequences. When Gertrude marries Claudius so quickly after her husbands death, she is punished by Hamlet's behavior and is eventually killed. When Claudius is not loyal to his brother and state, he also ends up being killed. When Hamlet's two friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not loyal to their friendship with Hamlet, they are killed when they go to England. Lastly, I believe because Hamlet does not obey the ghost in not harming his mother, he is killed in the end from the poisoned dagger. Shakespeare shows that loyalty is important and that if you are not loyal, there will be punishment. I agree with Shakespeare in the sense that loyalty is important. I do not believe that every time someone is not loyal, they are killed, however, I think he used this exaggeration in order to prove a point. I think this is shown as final because all of the characters who are not loyal are killed. - It is human nature to want to seek revenge to protect family:This is shown very strongly through Laertes and Hamlet. Even though Laertes is a little more impulsive in his revenge seeking, both of these sons want to seek revenge in order to honor their fathers. Hamlet wants to kill Claudius while Laertes wants to get revenge by killing Hamlet. I think even in todays society people obviously want to protect their families. If someone were to be hurt, many people would want to take revenge to protect their family. Shakespeare leaves this as a liminal topic. Even though Hamlet and Laertes try to honor their fathers, there are other characters who are not protecting their families at all. For example, when Ophelia drowns, Laertes does not seem to sincerely care. He does not grieve for her, work hard to get her a proper burial, or strive to protect her. Another example is Gertrude. She is not protecting Hamlet at all. She just sits and listens to whatever Claudius says instead of sticking up for her son. Lastly, Claudius does not protect his family at all. Not only did he kill his own brother but is also trying to kill his on nephew (Hamlet). In the end he ends up even killing his own wife but does not seem to care. These characters do not strive to protect or honor their family member, leaving this idea in a liminal state.
Scan contents of Middlesex – make predictions.
Absolute
- No one ever gets away with murderer- because of guilt: In today's society, I do not agree with this statement. I think Shakespeare was showing that when people commit this crime, guilt will eat away at them and make them go crazy or be very uptight. I think this is true because of the fear of being caught. I think this crime is such a hard one to commit, as shown by Hamlet, that it often leads people to go crazy just from trying to seem innocent. I believe he makes this a final topic because in the end Claudius is killed. Claudius is trying to protect his secret so much that he goes to great extents to try to kill Hamlet. His plans fall through and everything ends up being revealed. Through his own guilt he tries to take ridiculous actions to cover up his crime. In the end, he ends up dying due to his own actions.
- Not being loyal will lead to punishment: Shakespeare displays this through many of his characters. He shows that when you are not loyal, there are consequences. When Gertrude marries Claudius so quickly after her husbands death, she is punished by Hamlet's behavior and is eventually killed. When Claudius is not loyal to his brother and state, he also ends up being killed. When Hamlet's two friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not loyal to their friendship with Hamlet, they are killed when they go to England. Lastly, I believe because Hamlet does not obey the ghost in not harming his mother, he is killed in the end from the poisoned dagger. Shakespeare shows that loyalty is important and that if you are not loyal, there will be punishment. I agree with Shakespeare in the sense that loyalty is important. I do not believe that every time someone is not loyal, they are killed, however, I think he used this exaggeration in order to prove a point. I think this is shown as final because all of the characters who are not loyal are killed.
- It is human nature to want to seek revenge to protect family:This is shown very strongly through Laertes and Hamlet. Even though Laertes is a little more impulsive in his revenge seeking, both of these sons want to seek revenge in order to honor their fathers. Hamlet wants to kill Claudius while Laertes wants to get revenge by killing Hamlet. I think even in todays society people obviously want to protect their families. If someone were to be hurt, many people would want to take revenge to protect their family. Shakespeare leaves this as a liminal topic. Even though Hamlet and Laertes try to honor their fathers, there are other characters who are not protecting their families at all. For example, when Ophelia drowns, Laertes does not seem to sincerely care. He does not grieve for her, work hard to get her a proper burial, or strive to protect her. Another example is Gertrude. She is not protecting Hamlet at all. She just sits and listens to whatever Claudius says instead of sticking up for her son. Lastly, Claudius does not protect his family at all. Not only did he kill his own brother but is also trying to kill his on nephew (Hamlet). In the end he ends up even killing his own wife but does not seem to care. These characters do not strive to protect or honor their family member, leaving this idea in a liminal state.